Geneva, Swtizerland
October 20, 2011
The Council of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) met in Geneva on October 20, 2011, in the year of the 50th anniversary of the UPOV Convention, to take stock of the Union’s work over the past year and approve the next biennium’s program and budget.
UPOV members acknowledged that the 50th anniversary of UPOV comes at a time when a changing world carries many challenges for agriculture. At the global level, increasing population, climate change, parallel demands for food and energy production and evolving human needs require a response in agricultural production, often at the same time as land and inputs become increasingly scarce and expensive. Success in responding to these challenges relies on dynamic and sustainable agriculture.
Plant Breeding has significantly contributed and will continue to be a major contributor to increased food security whilst reducing input costs, greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. With that, plant breeding significantly mitigates the effects of population growth, climate change and other social and physical challenges.
Innovation in agriculture and horticulture is important for economic development in the rural sector. Production of high value varieties of ornamentals, fruit and vegetables provide employment and income for hundreds of thousands – even millions – of people. An effective system of plant variety protection is crucial for a sustainable contribution of plant breeding and seed supply and is a key enabler for investment in breeding and the development of new varieties of plants. UPOV membership promotes economic and social benefits and is an important global signal for breeders to have the confidence to introduce their new varieties in that country, which will be of benefit to farmers and growers in the country.
To mark the 50th anniversary, UPOV organized the “Symposium on Plant Breeding for the Future”, on October 21, 2011, which reviewed recent developments in plant science and looked forward to the challenges and opportunities for applying those scientific developments in plant breeding.
(http://www.upov.int/en/documents/symposium_2011/upov_sym_ge_11_1.html)
Round-up of key developments in UPOV Council:
New members of the Union
The Council was informed that Peru had deposited its instrument of accession to the UPOV Convention and became the 70th member of UPOV on August 8, 2011.
Program & Budget
The Council approved the Program and Budget for the 2012-2013 biennium, amounting to Sfr6,798,000. This budget contains no change in the value of the contribution unit by members of the Union and no change in the total number of posts for the Office of the Union.
Information on UPOV
Plans for the launch of a redesigned website on November 1, 2011, were approved with the aim of improving the availability of information on UPOV to a range of users. Some of the features of the redesigned website include the following:
- freely accessible database of plant varieties (PLUTO), formerly only available in the form of a CD-ROM on subscription
- multimedia presentation on UPOV
- video on the use of plant variety protection by gentian farmers in the Ashiro region of Japan (“the Ashiro Rindo story”)
- launch of UPOV YouTube channel
- UPOV collection of materials explaining the UPOV system
- database of UPOV members’ laws (UPOV Lex)
Public Access to UPOV Documents
In a further move to increase access to documents, the Council agreed that the documents of the Administrative and Legal Committee (CAJ), Technical Committee (TC) and Technical Working Parties (TWPs), which were formerly only accessible to members and observers, would be made publicly accessible.
Cooperation with ITPGRFA
The Council agreed with the request of the Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture for the Office of the Union to cooperate with ITPGRFA on a research project on the economics of the Multilateral System of the ITPGRFA, based on information available from the Plant Variety Database (PLUTO).
Other
The observer status for the Asia and Pacific Seed Association (APSA) was extended to the Administrative and Legal Committee (CAJ), Technical Committee (TC) and Technical Working Parties (TWPs).
Plant Variety Protection Statistics
The Council noted a record number of plant variety protection titles granted in 2010, with the number exceeding 11,000 for the first time (a 3% increase on 2009). A record number of titles in force – 90,214 – was recorded in 2010, representing a 4 percent increase on figures for 2009.
Cooperation in the Examination of New Plant Varieties
In 2011, the number of plant genera and species for which there were agreements between members of the Union for cooperation in the examination of distinctness, uniformity and stability totaled 1,990, compared to 1,400 in 2010.
A report of decisions taken at the forty-fifth ordinary session of the Council, held in Geneva on October 20, 2011, is available at: http://www.upov.int/en/documents/c/index_c45.htm.
Topics
Species
